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3 Native Advertising Trends to Watch for in 2017

Online native advertising has been around in some form since the birth of the internet, but this marketing tactic picked up steam in the past decade. Now, it's considered an important component of a modern digital advertising campaign. Native advertising trends have changed quite a bit, with spammy, keyword-filled articles giving way to more sophisticated text and video content that seeks to both inform and promote in an advertorial style.

It looks like 2017 will be another transformative year for native advertising. Here are some key trends to look out for in the coming months:

1. Ad Revenue

According to Business Insider, native advertising will drive 74 percent of all ad revenue by 2021. While we're not there yet, spending on native advertising in the U.S. should reach $21 billion by the end of next year, which means significant growth for native advertising. Social media display should surpass 200 percent growth in the next two years.

These numbers are staggering, and while it may be good news for the industry as a whole, competition will be fierce, particularly for small and midsize businesses. These organizations need to examine strategies to keep messages connecting with consumers in the native advertising market.

2. User-Generated Content

Brand authenticity is more important than ever, and native advertising takes advantage of this fact by incorporating user-generated content into articles, videos and other native content. Not only will advertisers pull quotes from online reviews, but they'll give those most familiar with their brand the chance to participate in social surveys and loyalty programs to create content where fans can feel like they're part of the process.

3. Programmatic Native Advertising

According to eMarketer, a May 2016 poll conducted by Advertiser Perceptions found that 47 percent of marketers and agencies that use native advertising took advantage of programmatic technology to boost campaigns. While this number is impressive, it should increase further, as programmatic technology gives marketers an easy way to target native advertising and measure up-to-the-minute results of campaigns. Programmatic native advertising also offers marketing strategy adjustments on the fly, which is important as the tool becomes more prominent in the digital landscape.

Keep an eye out for these native advertising trends in 2017, and think about how your marketing strategy could benefit from this growing and changing tool.